One of the top phrases you can hear believers saying is, “I am my own worst enemy.” It may sound nice, but it actually doesn’t produce any fruit in a believers life. In fact, it is a huge lie that is actually holding many people back, keeping them embroiled in a battle against themselves.
It is a counterproductive belief to think you are an enemy to yourself.
Your Enemy is Not You
You have an enemy, but that enemy is not you.
Your enemy is invisible, working from an invisible arena, producing thoughts that seek to steal, kill and destroy. On top of it all, the enemy hopes he can work and operate undetected.
Paul stated we do not fight against another human being, that includes yourself.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
It can be easy to forget that no person is your enemy. It’s a spiritual battle working through people that you have to be aware of. But you also need to remember that you have an enemy that wants to feed you with lies, deception and twisted perspectives. Most of all, he wants to remain undetected in your thoughts. That way you will end up beating yourself up all day long, because of the thoughts that attack you.
Why We Believe This
But we tend to believe we are our own worst enemy for a couple reasons:
- It reveals we don’t have a healthy relationship with ourselves.
- We were subtly trained in religious circles that it’s good to be hard on yourself.
- We’ve not been taught effectively about spiritual warfare. We have an enemy, but the enemy is not ourselves.
- If you go about your day without being aware of your thoughts and where they come from, you can easily flow with them, thinking, “this is just the way I think or feel.”
The enemy wants to produce thoughts in you that sound like your own voice. But they are not you.
Paul even stated that when he sinned, it was even him who was the source of that sin. Another kingdom was at work through his members.
Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. Romans 7:20 (NKJV)
You need to separate who you really are from the stuff you battle. You may have battles, but your identity is not your battles. You may have sin that you are wrestling, but your sins are not your identity.
Satan’s goal would be to get you to see yourself as one with your sin issues, to get you into a life-long battle with yourself. That way you never get the clarity to break through and the flow of love gets clogged in your life.
You Are Not Your Enemy
Today would be a great day to stop seeing yourself as an enemy.
Maybe like me, you have lived for years as an enemy to yourself. You get so easily offended and outraged at your personal weaknesses, failures and mistakes. You quickly judge yourself and condemn your shortcomings.
You may be able to show love to others, but you are quite rude, harsh and hostile towards yourself.
My family line is littered with generations of people who were very hard on themselves, never seeing themselves through grace. Very high standards gave no room for freedom or mistakes. What a torment!
So I recognize I am shifting a pattern that will affect generations to come. Learning to receive the grace of God towards myself has not only taken the pressure off of me, it’s also greatly improved how I respond when given the opportunity to become offended with others.
It’s time you learn to let love work and stop living as your enemy.
Want to learn to walk into freedom and become a better friend to yourself, get your copy of God Loves Me and I Love Myself!
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